Selected quad for the lemma: war_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
war_n	king_n	law_n	levy_v	3,963	5	11.2983	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08939	The case of shipmony briefly discoursed, according to the grounds of law, policie, and conscience and most humbly presented to the censure and correction of the High Court of Parliament, Nov. 3. 1640.	Parker, Henry, 1604-1652.	1640 (1640)	STC 19216; ESTC S114002	21,342	52

The Case of SHIPMONY Briefly Discoursed ACCORDING TO THE Grounds of Law Policie and Conscience AND MOST HVMBLY presented to the Censure and Correction of the High Court of PARLIAMENT Nov. 3. 1640. Printed Ann. Dom. 1640. THE Case of SHIP-MONEY Briefly discoursed GREAT ● Fires happening in Townes or Cities are sometimes the cause that other contiguous houses are spoyld and demolisht besides those which the flame it selfe ceazes So now in the case of Shipmony not onely the judgement it selfe which hath beene given against the subject doth make a great g●p and breach in the rights and Franchises of England but the arguments and pleadings also which conduced to that judgement have extended the mischiefe further and scarce left anything unviolated Such strange contradiction there hath beene amongst the pleaders and dissent amongst the Judges even in those Lawes which are most fundamentall that we are lef● in a more confused uncertainty of our highest priviledges and those customes which are most essentiall to Freedome then we were before To introduce the legality of the Ship-scot such a Prerogative hath been maintained as destroyes all other Law and is incompatible with popular liberty and such art hath beene used to deny traverse avoid or frustrate the true force or meaning of all our Lawes and Charters that if wee grant Ship-money upon these grounds with Ship-money we grant all besides To remove therefore this uncertainty which is the mother of all injustice confusion and publike dissention it is most requisite that this grand Councell and Tres●ault Court of which none ought to thinke dishonourably would take these Ard●a Regni these weighty and dangerous difficulties into serious debate an solemnly end that strife which no other place of Judicature can so effectually extinguish That the King ought to have aid of his subjects in time of danger and common aid in case of common danger is laid down for a ground and agreed upon by all sides But about this aid there remain●s much variety and contrariety of opinion amongst the greatest Sages of our Law and the principall points therein controverted are these foure First by what Law the King may compell aid Secondly when it is to bee levied Thirdly how it is to be levied Fourthly what kinde of aid it must be 1 Some of the Judges argue from the Law of Nature that since the King is head and ●ound to protect therefore he must have wherewithall to protect but this proves only that which no man denies The next Law insisted upon is Prerogative but it is not punctually explained what Prerogative whether the Prerogative naturall of all Kings or the Prerogative legall of the Kings of England Some of the Judges urge that by Law there is naturall allegeance due to the King from the subject and it doth not stand with that allygeance that the Princes cannot compell aid but must require the common consent therein Others presse that the Law hath ●etled a property of goods in the subject and it doth not stand with that property that the King may demand them without consent Some take it for granted that by Royall Prerogative as it is part of the Lawes of England the King may charge the Nation without publike consent and therefore it being part of the Law it is no invasion upon Law Others take it for granted that to levie money without consent is unjust and that the Kings prerogative cannot extend to any unjust thing So many contrary points of warre doe our Trumpets sound at once and in such confusion doe our Judges leave us whilest either side takes that for granted which by the other is utterly denied By these grounds Royall prerogative and popular liberty may seeme things irreconciliable though indeed they are not neither doth either side in words affirme so much though their proofes bee so contradictory King Charles his maxime is that the peoples liberty strenghteus the Kings prerogative and the Kings prerogative is to maintain the peoples liberty and by this it seemes that both are compatible and that prerogative is the more subordinate of the two The Kings words also since have beene upon another occasion That he ever intended his people should enjoy property of good● and liberty of persons holding no King so great as he that was King of a rich and free people and if they had not property of goods and liberty of persons they could bee neither rich nor free Here we see that the liberty of the subject is a thing which makes a King great and that the Kings prerogative hath only for its ends to maintaine the peoples liberty Wherefore it is manifest that in nature there is more favour due to the liberty of the subject then to the Prerogative of the King since the one is ordained onely for the preservation of the other and then to salve these knots our dispute must be what prerogative the peoples good and profit will beare not what liberty the Kings absolutenesse or prorogative may admit● and in this dispute it is more just that we appeale to written Lawes than to the breasts of Kings themselves For we know Nationall Lawes are made by consent of Prince and people both and so cannot bee conceived to be prejudiciall to either side but where the meere will of the Prince is Law or where some few Ministers of his may alleage what they will for Law in his behalfe no mediocrity or justice is to be expected we all know that no slave or villaine can be subjected to more miserable bondage than to be left meerly to his Lords absolute discretion and we all see that the thraldome of such is most grievous which have no bounds set to their Lord discretion Let us then see what Fortescue writes not regard what Court-dependants doe interpret and his words are ●ol 84. cap. 36. Rex Angliae nec per se nec per suos Ministros Tollagia subsidia aut quaevis onera alia impo●it l●gis suis aut leges corum 〈◊〉 aut nova condit sine concessione vel asse●su totius regni sui in Parliamento suo expresso These words are full and generall and plain and in direct affirmance of the ancient Law and usage of England and it is not sufficient for the Kings Counsell to say that these words extend not to Ship-money for if there were any doubt the interpretation ought rather to favour liberty than Prerogative It is not sufficient for Judge Iones to say that it is proprium quarto modo to a King and an inseparable naturall Prerogative of the Crowne to raise monies without assent unlesse he first prove that such Prerogative be good and profitable for the people and such as the people cannot subsist at all without it nay such as no Nation can subsist without it This word Prerogative hath divers acceptions sometimes it is taken for the altitude of Honour sometimes for the latitude of Power So we say the Prerogative of an Emperour is greater than that of

toylsome and their ends miserable and violent so that if Kings did rightly understand their owne good none would more shunne uncontrollable absolutenesse then themselves How is the King of France happy in his great Prerogative or in that terrible stile of the King of Asses ●ee see that his immoderate power makes him oppresse his poore Pesants for their condition is most deplorable and yet set his power aside and there is no reason why he should not be as a Father to cherish them as a God to comfort them not as an enemy to impoverish them as a tormentor to afflict them 2. His oppression makes him culpable before God he must one day render a sad account for all the evill which he hath imposed for all the good which he hath not procured to them That the Vicegerent of God should doe the office of a tyrant will be no light thing one day 3. His sinne makes him poore for were his Pesants suffered to get wealth and enjoy it the whole Land would be his treasury and that treasury would containe twice as much as now it doth 4. His poverty makes him impotent for money being the sinewes of warre how strong would his joynts be if all his subjects were abounding in money as doubtlesse they would if they wanted not liberty and propriety besides poverty depresses the spirit of a Nation and were the King of France King of an Infantery as he is onely of a Cavalrie were he a King of men as he is onely of beasts had he a power over hearts as he hath over hands that Country would be twice as puissant as it is 5. His impotence together with all other irregularities and abuses is like to make his Monarchy the lesse durable Civill wars have ever hitherto infected and macerated that goodly Countrey and many times it hath been near it's ruine it now enjoyes inward peace but it doth no great exploits abroad nor is ever likely to doe unlesse by practising upon the distemper of other Nations should some other Prince practise in the like manner upon that and propose liberty to the grieved people much advantage might be taken but these avisoes would better proceed from that most heroick most terrible most armipatent Churchman which effects such great wonders here wee see hence that Princes by some gaine lose as the whole body pines by the swelling of the spleene we see that Reh●●oam catcht an immoderate power as the Dog in the fable at a shadow but in stead of an uncertain nothing he let fall and lost a certaine substance and yet flatterers have scarce any other bai●e then this shadow of immoderate power whereby to poison the phantasies of weake humours undiscerning rash Princes My humble motion therefore is First that the judgement given in the Chequ●r Chamber for Ship-money may bee reversed and damned as contrary to the right of the Subject Secondly that those Iudges which adhered to equity and integrity in this case might have some honourable guerdon designed them Thirdly that some dishonourable penalty may bee imposed upon those Iudges which ill advised the King herein and then argued as Pleaders not as Iudges especially if any shall appeare to have solicited the betraying of the Kingdome Fourthly that the meaning of our Lawes Charters may bee fully and expresly declared and the force and vertue of Statutes and publicke Grants may be vindicated from all such exceptions and objections as have beene particularly or generally made against them Fifthly that a clearer solution may be given in the foure maine points stirred how farre prerogative is arbitrary and above Law and how farre naturall Allegeance bindes to yeeld to all demands not of Parliament next how the King is sole Judge of danger as that his meere cognizance thereof shall be sufficient though there be no appearance or probability thereof Next how a necessity of publicke ●●ine must be concluded now if Ship-money be not levied when no such ruine hath been formerly when this new plot was not devised Lastly how this Ship-scot pretending ships but intending money and really raising the same can be said to be no pecuniary tollage within our Statutes but a meere personall service Sixthly that any Officers or Ministers of State which shall attempt to lay the like taxes hereafter upon the Subject by vertue of the like void warrants may be held and taken as Felons or Traytors or forcible Intruders Seventhly that something may be inacted against forraigne and domesticall Forces also if they shall be congregated for the like purposes and that the subject may be inabled by some fit and timely remedy to be given against a military kinde of government Eighthly that the due way of publicke defence in case of imminent and eminent danger or actuall necessary warre for the pressing of men and other charges of warre such as Cote and Conduct money and all doubts thereabouts may be made more certaine and settled for the time to come Ninthly that if the Kings ordinary 〈◊〉 now taken for the Crowne be not sufficient to maintaine him as our great Master some legall order may be taken therefore and that he may be sensible of his Subjects loyalty and his Subjects live safe under him that his enemies may finde him considerable and his true friends usefull FINIS 3.